Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest vehicles maker, said on Thursday it would deliver the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, to its first customer on Friday.

Chairman Ratan Tata had showcased the Nano at an auto show in New Delhi in January last year, but consumer bookings began only in April this year after the project was delayed due to land disputes at its planned site in the eastern state of West Bengal.

Over 70% of the total 2.03 lakh bookings have come from non-metro markets. Tata Motors, which closed the bookings for the Nano on April 25, 2009, will complete the process of delivering one-lakh cars by the last quarter of 2010. A Tata Motors dealer based out of South Mumbai said, customers have been informed about the delivery schedule in their allotment letters.

Tata has assured price protection for the first 100,000 customers, for whom the cars will be available for 100,000 rupees ($2,053), excluding taxes.

Driving down the price of the Tata Nano couldn’t have been done without the collective effort of the component suppliers. Some of the biggest and the best in the business were roped in, with scissors and ingenuity to bring out solutions within a specified cost structure.

Take Tata Johnson controls, for instance, who developed the seats for the small car. Tata Motors specified that the seats needed to be light, yet offer good overall body support and meet all safety requirements. The end result were front seats based on a single brace structure instead of individual rails, a frame and the right amount of foam to ensure overall seat comfort wasn’t lost. The basic variant in fact doesn’t even offer seat back adjustments for the passenger, thus saving on crucial rupees.

The phones haven’t stopped ringing at the Tata Motors showrooms since the commercial launch of the world’s cheapest four-wheeler Tata Nano on Monday. The flood of calls has been mostly from prospective buyers eager to know how they can book the car and maximise their chances of getting one from the first lot — before the price tag changes.

People have also been visiting showrooms to enquire about the booking process. Going by the volume of enquiries, Tata Motors expect 4,500 to 5,000 registrations during the period (April 9 to 25) when bookings will be open on each Showrooms.

Tata Nano’s Engine at the rear. So no protection at the front in case of accident.

Tata Nano’s Top speed – 90 Km/h (Kilometer per hour). Thats why it would be just a city car more or less, no long drives!. So, it would not be popular among youth who need speed which they get in Bikes.

Tata Nano Made by low grade metal – Aluminium.

Tata Nano’s Mileage: 20 Kmpl in spite of being light weight.

Tata Nano has Low Quality interiors – Seat cover are made up of leather.

Tata Nano didn’t provide spare Tire.

Tata Nano’s Small sized Dashboard which can’t safeguard against collision from front.

Tata Nano has Low Priced gearbox from Kinetic Scooter Company.

Tata Nano has Very ugly interiors.

Tata Nano’s Seats uncomfortable much like a Three-Wheeler.

Tata Nano’s Emission norms are not followed properly.

Tata Nano Not powerful, Slow Pickup (0-20 Kmph).

Install AC in Tata Nano will be paid extra prices that are not including in its basics.

This is good that everyone who have dream of own car can true their dreams with Tata’s Nano. But I was so curious about the world’s cheapest car I was willing to take that chance.

With a sticker price of about $2,000, the new Tata Motors’ Nano has been mocked as a lawn mower for four. It has no air conditioning, stereo or air bags. Those cost extra. It does come with a single windshield wiper, kind of skimpy for a country with a monsoon season. Oh, and the Nano comes only with manual transmission.

But in a country where it’s common to see a family of four or five perched precariously on a Bike, it puts the dream of car ownership within reach of India’s emerging middle- and working-classes.

I was excited but also a little worried about test-driving the “Tata’s Nano” as it’s also known here not only because of the stick shift but also because of India’s traffic.

Jostling for space on the roads is like a scene out of a “Mad Max” film. There are hulking commuter buses, ox-pulled carts stacked with chicken coops, pedicabs with cooking gas cylinders strapped to the backs, silver swan-shaped marriage floats tricked out with loudspeakers and squeaky Soviet-era taxis. India’s roads are a true expression of the world’s largest democracy a free-for-all for anything with wheels, hooves or feet.

“If you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere,” said a chuckling Sugiyan Kapadia, 31, owner of the aptly named Good Luck Driving School.

The mini-car is the brainchild of one of India’s top industrialists, Ratan Tata, who had a dream to move millions of Indian families off their two-wheelers and into a safer, all-weather alternative. Many auto experts here have likened the Nano to the Henry Ford Model T that revolutionized American life a century ago. The down payment for a Nano is about $70.

“I made a promise and I kept that promise,” the soft-spoken 71-year-old Tata said at a glitzy launch party Monday at Mumbai. “I dedicate this car to the youth of India who designed it and will use it to transport their families. It shows that nothing is really impossible if you set your mind to it.”

The global economic downturn has only made the car more desirable, and not only in developing nations, Tata said. The company is planning to launch a version of the Nano in Europe in 2011, and after that a souped-up Nano for the U.S. market.

“At first I thought the U.S. customer might not go for such a small car,” Tata said. “But the economic realities may change that.”

After the long wait the Tata’s most awaiting small car (public car) known as Tata Nano (Lakhtakia) ready to burn Indian roads today! Nano car is being unveiled in Mumbai Today.

The Tata’s Nano car is being unveiled in Mumbai Today and many people who want to own the new machine.

Many peoples have waited for this day all of 2008. The young couple wants to graduate from their two-wheeler to a car. The Nano launch is as much an event for them as it is for Tata Motors.

“Rs one lakh has no value today. If any one can get a car for Rs one lakh or Rs 1.5 lakh, it will be a good buy”.

Change of plant location, automobile sector slowdown – the Nano has indeed faced many speed breakers before it could turn on the ignition but experts say it’s worth the wait.

“The bulk of vehicles sold are two-wheeler. This provides a good opportunity for two-wheeler customers to upgrade to four wheelers. I think the upgrade will happen quicker given that somebody is moving from a 60,000 to 70,000 two-wheeler to a lakh a car whereas in then past the car would be nothing less than two lakh,” said Rakesh Batra, partner, Ernst And Young.

The economic meltdown altered many family budgets for 2009, but the mega dream of owning a Nano has held on.

The demand for used cars in the country has fallen by as much as 25% to 30% after TATA Motors’ announcement of the launch date of the Tata Nano People’s Car. The car will debut on Monday.

According to automobile experts and dealers, there has been an average fall of 15% to 20% in prices of used cars, mainly compact ones small cars like Maruti 800, Maruti Alto and Hyundai Santro, among others, following the announcement.

However, Nano has pulled down prices of several models. For instance, a 2006 make Hyundai Santro is currently being offered at INR 230,000 as against its regular price of INR 260,000. Similarly, Maruti Suzuki’s Zen Estilo is INR 40,000 cheaper at INR 260,000 as against the usual price of INR 300,000.

Dealers in the unorganized market fear a further price dip of 10% when delivery starts and Nano is seen prominently on roads.

Mr Arif Fazulbhoy director of Fazulbhoy Motors, one of Mumbai’s largest used car dealers said “We started to feel the impact of Nano since the announcement of the launch date. People are postponing purchases and there has been a lull in the market ever since.”

A dealer said that sellers are being forced to cut rates as the demand is expected to fall further. The more the time a car spends with the seller, the more its resale value falls.

The impact on used car prices, however, seems restricted only to the unorganized market. Prices in the relatively smaller organized market are still holding. India’s used car market is largely unorganized. The organized players account for just 20% of the used car market.